 Japan has more
than its share of problems with a slumping economy, and you might think
that's cause for concern in the anime industry. Nobuyuki Takahashi, head
of Studio Hard, takes the contrary view. Things are going too well, and
the money being put into the anime industry may not be helping the development
of new shows and talent. On top of that, there's a big competitor for the
talent pool that once went into anime and manga, and that could cause more
problems. |
 According to
Takahashi, most of the companies that put money into anime for television
are looking for a major hit so they can make money by selling tapes of
the shows - as happened with the breakthrough Neon Genesis Evangelion.
But, with 100 anime shows on Japanese television in a typical week, only
20 of those shows will be a commercial success. Takahashi worries that
eventually, the investors will stop putting so much money into anime production
and the number of programs will drop. "The bubble economy that the Japanese
anime industry is experiencing will see a `winter' in the next few years,"
said Takahashi. |
 At the same
time, the young artists needed to keep anime fresh in the coming years
are being drawn to another venue, the lucrative video game industry. Takahashi
is concerned that the brightest creative minds are making games instead
of anime, and the quality of future anime will suffer. "Joining the video
game industry is a sweet-smelling, but dangerous trap for young designers,"
Takahashi said. |
 Takahashi hopes
to fill what he sees as a gap in the coverage of anime in Japan, and revive
a project that wasn't going his way. The AX anime magazine he started just
before Animazement '98 in cooperation with Sony Magazines was turning into
more of an otaku and children's magazine. Takahashi wanted something more
like Cinefantastique or Variety in the U.S., a magazine that took a critical
look at anime and covered the technical and creative side of the industry.
A new branch of Studio Hard has been created to pursue that project, which
may end up as a web page one day. |
